After about 60 days of doing nothing in Shanghai as a result of a resurgence of the COVID-19 epidemic, Hao Guangping returned to her hometown in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, at the end of last month, carrying a large suitcase and two handbags.

 

Before the latest wave of cases in the city, the migrant worker undertook housekeeping duties, helping her clients clean rooms, make meals and look after elderly family members.

 

The 42-year-old said she was satisfied with the work because she could earn about 9,000 yuan ($1,350) a month if she served several clients, which was far more than she could make working similar jobs in Xuzhou.

 

However, after Shanghai took control measures to deal with the resurgence of the epidemic in late March, her life changed completely.

 

Instead of shuttling around the city to provide her services, she stayed in her rented apartment in Hongkou district, where she cooked, washed clothing and played with her mobile phone.

 

"I began to miss my family just a few days after the lockdown started. I didn't have those feelings when I was busy. Doing nothing made me very homesick," said Hao, who had not returned to Xuzhou since arriving in Shanghai two years ago.

 

"I also became very anxious after the lockdown became unexpectedly lengthy because it meant I had no income. However, I still had to pay more than 3,000 yuan in rent each month. So, I planned to leave the city in April."

 

However, leaving proved so difficult that she did not manage to get away when she wanted.

 

Difficult process

 

The first difficulty she encountered was that domestic flights were suspended in April as Shanghai was hit by the new wave of cases, and only a few rail services kept running.

 

Secondly, the city's public transportation system was suspended, which meant she would have had to walk to railway stations and airports－provided she could get out of her community in the first place.

 

"That would have been an exhausting journey," Hao said. She estimated that it might have taken almost an entire day to walk to the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, more than 25 kilometers from her apartment.

 

"I had no option but to wait－wait for more train tickets to become available and for metro services to resume," she said.

 

Zhu Yidan faced a similar dilemma. The native of Wuhan, Hubei province, arrived in Shanghai on a business trip in early April. At the time, the auditor realized that the number of cases was growing rapidly, but she focused almost exclusively on her work and did not think about the epidemic too much.

 

She began to realize that she faced a long departure process on April 18 when she was walking out of the Hongqiao Railway Station.

 

That day, the 23-year-old had bought a ticket for a train that was supposed to pass through Shanghai before heading to Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province. However, when she arrived at Hongqiao, she was informed that the train would not stop at the station.

 

"I had spent a lot of time on social media platforms and traveling apps to get that ticket. All I wanted was to leave Shanghai, no matter where I went. I made great efforts to find someone to take me to the railway station, which was another big challenge during the lockdown. I finally paid a driver 1,000 yuan for the one-way journey," she said.

 

"So, when I heard that I couldn't get on the train, I crumbled and my mind went blank. I felt so helpless while standing outside the station, looking up at the sky."

 

In the end, she had to call the driver back. After bargaining with him, she paid a further 600 yuan to be taken downtown so she could find a new hotel.

 

Transportation resumes

 

Since the situation in Shanghai was brought under control by a series of preventive measures last month, domestic flights have resumed and the number of rail services has increased.

 

Moreover, in the end of May, four metro lines－numbers 3, 6, 10 and 16－resumed operations, along with 273 bus routes that cover the urban areas and provide access to the airport, railway stations, major hospitals and commercial districts.

 

After learning that metro services had resumed, Hao immediately bought a train ticket to Xuzhou. On May 26, armed with a negative result from a nucleic acid test conducted within the past 48 hours and a green health code, she took Line 10 to the railway station.

 

Under rules imposed by the Xuzhou government, Hao spent seven days in quarantine in a local hotel before being reunited with her family. Last weekend, she was especially happy to see her 18-year-old son, who will take the gaokao, the college entrance examination.

 

Zhu was not as lucky as Hao. The auditor first needed to travel to Jingzhou in Hubei province－about 220 kilometers from Wuhan－to spend seven days in quarantine, before her mother drove to Jingzhou to take her home.

 

Changed plans

 

Unlike Hao and Zhu, who were eager to return to their hometowns, a train passenger surnamed Wang had mixed feelings about the Shanghai lockdown.

 

The native of Jiaozuo, Henan province, resigned her job at the end of last year, intending to find a new one this year.

 

The 35-year-old, who declined to give her full name, arrived in Shanghai in early March, partly to see her younger brother's newborn baby but also to seek job opportunities. However, after spending more than 70 days at her brother's home in Xuhui district, she said she began to feel anxious.

 

"I'm not sure what kind of job I can find in the city. Also, I don't know whether I should continue to help look after the baby," she said.

 

"The epidemic has changed my plans a lot. Living with my brother's family without an income made me feel uncomfortable, even though they didn't complain to me. I didn't need to worry about the food supply during the outbreak, but it's time to rethink my plans and find a new way of earning a living. Half the year has already gone by."

 

She noted that Shanghai's retail businesses may need time to recover from the outbreak.

 

"I have decided to return to Jiaozuo by train and find something to do first, and also spend time with my parents," she said.

 

See you again?

 

Departure is a final farewell for some, but it is also a long-awaited break for others.

 

A Chongqing native who declined to give his name said he would not return to Shanghai.

 

The 50-something man worked on a construction site after arriving in the city in late February, but after just a few days, the project was suspended because of COVID-19, leaving him with no livelihood. "So, I wanted to leave the city where I felt frustrated," he said.

 

Zhu, the auditor from Wuhan, said she would be happy to visit Shanghai again for business or pleasure.

 

"This fashionable and international city had left me with a good impression in the past, and I'm confident about epidemic control in the country," she said. "I'll visit again if things return to normal."

 

Hao, the Xuzhou native, regarded her departure as a delayed homecoming. "I will visit Shanghai again," she said, adding that she will consider returning to the city and continue housekeeping work if life and business return to normal later this month.

 

She said that, despite returning to her hometown, she is following Shanghai's epidemic situation and the relevant preventive measures.

 

"I still quite like Shanghai, where things are diverse and inclusive, with more good job opportunities. That not only means a better salary, but I can also broaden my horizons," she said.